Subscriber Benefit
As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe Now
Mere hours after hearing arguments in a dispute between the man accused of killing two teen girls from Delphi and the judge who removed his attorneys over his objection, the Indiana Supreme Court issued an order reinstating the man’s legal team.
The order says a majority of the court voted to grant Richard Allen’s petition to reinstate attorneys Scott Baldwin and Brad Rozzi as his counsel, although it does not indicate what the final vote was among the justices.
Allen was charged in 2022 with the 2017 murders of Liberty German, 14, and Abigail Williams, 13, both of Delphi. Since then, the case has taken many twists and turns.
First, Allen Superior Court Judge Fran Gull was made special judge in the case after the initial judge recused.
Then, last October, Gull disqualified Allen’s court appointed attorneys, Baldwin and Rozzi.
According to WTHR, the attorneys were dismissed following a leak of crime scene photos at Baldwin’s law office. A former employee later admitted that he took pictures of the crime scene photos while visiting the office, and did so without Baldwin’s knowledge.
That former employee, Mitchel Westerman, has been criminally charged in connection with the leak, WTHR reported.
After Gull appointed new attorneys for Allen, he filed an original action petition with the Supreme Court alleging the trial court exceeded its jurisdiction by disqualifying his attorneys over his objection.
He asked the high court to issue a writ reinstating his previous attorneys, setting trial within 70 days
The high court heard arguments from both sides on Thursday morning.
While the justices agreed to reinstate Baldwin and Rozzi, they unanimously denied all other relief.
The order stated that the court will issue a written opinion explaining its reasoning shortly.
“The pendency of this matter in this Court does not stay the proceedings in the trial court,” the Thursday order stated.
The case is State ex rel. Richard Allen v. Carroll Circuit Court, et al., 23S-OR-311.
Please enable JavaScript to view this content.